Automatic piercing and cut-off mechanism for electric can opener



Oct 30, 2 E. o. HERBIG 3,060,566

AUTOMATIC PIERCING AND CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed Aug. 8. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Arm/win;

Oct. 30, 1962 E. o. HERBIG 3,060,566

AUTOMATIC PIERCING AND CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed Aug. 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,660,566 AUTGMATIC PIERCEIG AND CUT-OFF MECH- ANISM FOR ELECTRIC CAN ()PENER Eugene O. Herbig, Belleville, 111., assignor to Knapp- Monarch Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 43,263 Claims. (Cl. 3tl4) This invention relates to can openers and more particularly to power operated can openers.

In power operated can openers as heretofore constructed, because manual movement of the cutter wheel has been utilized to effect piercing of the can, it has been found that such a manual operation is sometimes difiicult to perform. Furthermore, while automatic control means have heretofore been provided for stopping the driving motor at the end of a can-opening operation, such means have generally been complex and expensive and have not always functioned properly on cans of different sizes and shapes.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a can opener in which the driving motor automatically becomes energized during initial movement of the feed wheel and cutter wheel relatively toward each other toward the cutting position, and wherein the energized drive motor then assists in moving said feed and cutter Wheels into the can cutting position and operates to assist in effecting piercing of the can.

The can opener of this invention provides a device which is automatically energized as means are initially actuated to effect piercing of the top of the can to be opened, and which is automatically de-energized at the termination of the can cutting operation, all without the use of any separately operated control for starting or stopping.

According to one desirable construction, the feed Wheel is mounted for movement toward and away from the cutting wheel, and the initial movement of the feed wheel toward the cutting wheel starts the motor so that the engagement and action of the feed wheel, on the can to be cut, tends to cause the feed wheel to automatically advance itself to the full cutting position.

Another object is to provide a can opener in which the motor is automatically stopped at the end of a cutting operation by reason of the removal from the feed wheel of the cutting reaction, or resistance, from the can.

According to a feature of the invention, resilient means are provided which normally resists final movement of the feed wheel toward the cutting position, but these resilient means are overcome by the cutting reaction from the can, and then, after cutting of the can is completed and the cutting reaction terminates, the resilient means operates to move the feed wheel slightly away from the cutting position, and this movement is utilized to automatically stop the motor of the can opener.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view through a can opener embodying the invention, with certain of the parts shown in elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front view of the can opener, showing in full lines the position of certain parts prior to initiating cutting of the top from a can and showing in dot-dash lines the position of the parts when in a can-cutting operation;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary front view showing certain parts in the can-cutting position;

.FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary View from the interior of the casing showing certain of the parts in non-cutting position and prior to movement into a cutting position;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 4 but showing in full lines the parts in their can-cutting position, and illustrating in dot-dash lines the position that the parts automatically assume after the can-cutting operation has been completed; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURES 4 and 5 with certain parts omitted and additionally showing the motor control switch and the operating means therefor.

The can opener, as shown in FIGURE 1, comprises a frame including a base 10 and a front plate 11, rigidly secured together at right angles to each other with the front plate 11 lying in a vertical plane adjacent to the front of the unit. The frame and operating parts of the can opener are enclosed in a housing 12 which may conveniently be molded of plastic or similar material. The housing, as shown, is in two parts with a removable front part 13 fitting against the rear part of the housing at the periphery of the unit, and enclosing the front plate 11.

The can opener mechanism is driven by an electric motor 14, having a shaft 15 projecting from opposite ends thereof and which is journaled by a front bearing supported in the front plate 11 and in a bearing adjacent the rear of the motor as shown, the rear bearing being supported on the frame means in any convenient manner. Positioned rearwardly of the motor is a fan 16 mounted to circulate air over the motor and cool it. Rearwardly of the fan 16 there is a mounted grinding Wheel 17, for sharpening knives and the like which may be brought into contact with the wheel, for sharpening, through guide slots 18 in the upper part of the housing.

The motor 14 is adapted to drive a knurled can feed wheel 19, which lies in front of the front cover portion 13 of the housing, through a reducing gear train starting with a drive gear, or pinion, 21 on the motor shaft 15 and driving through double pinions, on fixed shafts 22 and 23 that are carried in the frame, to a low speed driven pinion gear 24, which gear meshes with the smaller pinion 23a of the double pinion on shaft 23. The gear 2 4 is secured to a shaft 25 on which the feed wheel 19 is rigidly mounted. The shaft 25 extends through an arcuate aperture 25a defined in front plate 11. The shaft 25 is journaled in a bearing 26 which is supported for swinging movement in the housing by lever means including a mounting lever 27. The axis of shaft 25 is mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of shaft 23. Due to this mounting the bearing 26, the shaft 25, the gear 24, and the feed wheel 19, can swing about the axis of the shaft 23, as the gear 24 planets around pinion 23a, to move the feed wheel 19 from its can releasing position, as shown in full lines in FIGURE 2, to its cutting position, as shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2, wherein the feed wheel .19 is overlaid by a cutter 28 that is non-swingably, or rigidly, mounted on the frame.

As shown, the cutter is specifically in the form of a wheel 23 that is supported in a bearing 29 that is rigidly secured to the front frame member 11. The cutter wheel 28 is mounted on a shaft 32 which is slidable and rotatable in the bearing 29. The cutter wheel 28 with an en.- larged shank 28a adapted to abut part 29 to limit rearward movement is normally urged rearwardly toward the front of the cover plate by a spring 33 surrounding shaft 32 and hearing at one end against a forward thrust washer 31 and at its other end against rear washer 31a. This resilient mounting of shaft 32 and wheel 28 thereon allows the cutter wheel to move outward slight-1y relative to feed wheel 19 to accommodate therebetween cans having un usually thick rims.

The bearing 26 and the driving gear 24 and feed wheel 19 are adapted to be swung in an arcuate path about the axis of the shaft 23 by a control means which includes a link 34 that is pivoted at one end on the bearing 26. Preferably, the lever 27 and link 34 are located between a pair of guide plates 35 which are rigidly secured to the frame. The other end of the link 34 is formed with a circular opening to receive therein an eccentric 36 as best seen in FIGURES 4 and 5. The eccentric is mounted for rotary movement about a shaft 3611 that is journaled in the frame and to which is secured an operating lever 37 having an elongated operating handle 38, which normally extends above the top of the casing.

The operating lever 37 and the eccentric 36 are both rigid with the shaft 36a so that when the operating lever is swung from its full line position shown in FIGURE 4 to the full line position shown in FIGURE 5, the eccentric 36 will turn and move the link 34 to the left as viewed in FIGURES 4 and 5, or to the right as viewed in FIGURE 2. This movement of the link 34 will swing the bearing 26 and the parts supported thereby to the positions shown, whereby to bring the feed wheel 19 into line with and in an overlapped position relative to the cutter wheel as shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2, and in full lines in FIGURE 3.

According to a feature of the invention, the motor is adapted to be controlled in a first instance by initial movement of the operating lever 37 in a first direction (clockwise as viewed from the front) from its fully retracted position (shown in full lines in FIGURE 2) toward its cutting position (shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2), and in a second instance by initial movement of the operating lever in the opposite direction (clockwise as viewed from the back) from its cutting position (shown in full lines in FIGURE toward its released position (shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 5). It should be noted that FIGURES 2 and 3 are front views and FIGURES 4-6 are back views, so that directions of motion in FIGURES 2 and 3 are reversed in FIGURES 4-6. For the purpose of effecting control of the motor by movement of lever 37, and as best illustrated in FIGURE 6, the motor 14 is connected in circuit with a fixed contact 39 and a movable contact 41 which is normally resiliently biased by its spring leaf mounting toward the contact 39 to normally close a circuit for energizing the motor. The resiliently mounted contact 41 has an extension 42 thereon formed of nonconducting material, such as reinforced plastic, mica, or the like, and which is adapted to be engaged to move the contact 41 to an open-switch position by an arm 43 that is limitedly movable between a pair of fixed stops 44 and 45. The arm 43 is bent around the shaft 36a as shown at 46 to have a good, snug, friction sliding fit thereon. The degree of friction is so regulated that movement of shaft 36a will provide sufficient force on the extended end of the arm 43' to move the resilient contact 41 downward to its open position shown in FIGURE 6; but the connection 46 will slip freely on shaft 36a when the arm 43 engages one of the stops 44 or 45.

The final movement of the operating lever 37 to its cutting position (shown in full lines in FIGURE 5) is resisted by an elongated spring 46 which is carried at its lower end on the frame and whose free upper end, seen in the figures, is positioned to be engaged by the end 38 of the operating handle 37 during the final movement of the operating lever to the cutting position. The spring 46 normally occupies a position as shown in full lines in FIGURES 4 and 6, and is deflected to a position, shown in full lines in FIGURE 5 and in dot-dash lines in FIG- URE 6 when the operating lever 37 is moved all the way to the cutting position. This spring 46 produces a constant biasing force on the operating lever 37 tending to move it away from the cutting position. Because of the limited force available from spring 46, the lever 37 may be moved by spring 46 only a limited distance to the dot-dash line position shown in FIGURE 5.

For use of the can opener, the operating lever member 37 is initially swung to the can-loading position shown in full lines in FIGURES 2, 4 and 6. This movement will turn the eccentric 36 to the position as shown in FIGURE 4 to shift the link 34 to the right. The link 34 swings the lever 27 to the right to move the bearing 26 and the parts carried thereby away from the cutter wheel 28. At this time the parts will occupy the position shown in full lines in FIGURE 2 with the feed wheel 19 spaced from the cutter wheel 28 so that a can may be inserted between them. As seen in FIGURE 6, movement of the operating lever 37 to the full line position will swing the arm 43 downward, or clockwise, to move the contact 41 away from the contact 39 and interrupt the motor circuit.

With the can held in position with the under side of its upper rim resting on the feed wheel 19, the lever 37 then is swung clockwise as seen in FIGURE 2, or counterclockwise as seen in FIGURE 6 to the dotted line position illustrated. During the initial movement of the lever, the arm 43 will turn with the shaft 36:: due to its frictional engagement therewith until it engages the upper stop 44. This movement of the arm 43 will release the lower contact 41 allowing it to move into engagement with the fixed contact 39 in response to its own resilient bias. The motor 14 will therefore be started during the initial movement of the operating lever toward its cutting position.

The motor will drive the feed wheel 19 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 2, so that the reaction, or resistance, of the can as it first engages the cutter wheel will be transmitted to the cutter wheel and will tend to cause the feed wheel 19 to move along the can into its full cutting position as shown in dot-dash lines in FIGURE 2 and in full lines in FIGURE 5. As the feed wheel 19 tends to move along the can under the force transmitted from the drive motor 14, such movement of wheel 19 relative to the can and to the cutter wheel 28 assists in moving the can through the can piercing operation and into the can cutting operation. The latter operation is actually accomplished by the cutter wheel 28 rotating into engagement with the edge of the can so as to aid the manual effort in piercing the can top, and at the same time the reaction causes the can itself to rotate as its top is being cut. Thus, force from the drive motor is utilized both in the can piercing and cutting operations. During the final part of movement of the lever 37 into the cutting position, the tip 38 of ti e handle 37 will engage the spring 46 and move the spring from the dot-dash line position shown in FIGURE 4, against the bias of spring 46, to the full line position, to potentialize the spring. During the cutting operation, the aforesaid cutting reaction that is transmitted to the feed wheel 19 will be sufiicient to overcome the bias of spring 46 and will hold the parts in this position until the cutting is completed. During cutting, a can is re strained against tilting by engagement of the upper edge thereof with outwardly extending elongated stud S located to the left of cutter 28, as seen in FIGURE 2, and by engagement with abutment A below the feeder 19.

Upon completion of the cutting operation, the reaction force that is transmitted to the feed wheel is substantially reduced and the potentialized spring 46 is, at this time, sufiiciently strong to swing the lever 37 slightly clockwise as seen in FIGURES 5 and 6 away from the full cutting position. This swinging movement is sufficient to cause the arm 43 to move down to the full line position shown in FIGURE 6 to open the contacts 39 and 41 and stop the motor. In this way the motor is automatically stopped promptly at the end of a can opening operation, when the cutting reaction, or resistance, between the can and the cutter wheel has terminated. Now, to remove the can, the operating lever 37 is swung upward to the full line can-releasing position of FIG- URES 2, 4 and 6, which will move the feed wheel 19 away from the cutter wheel 28 so that the can can easily be removed. The parts are now in a position to receive a second can to be opened.

It will be observed, by reference to the drawings, that the axis of feed wheel 19 is always maintained to one side of the plane through the axis of cutter wheel 28 and the axis of shaft 23 about which the lever 27 pivots. As seen in full lines in FIGURE 3, when the feeder 19 and cutter 28 are in full cutting position, the axis of feeder 19 is about A inch to the left of a vertical line between the axis of shaft 23 and the axis of cutter 28. The dotdash lines in FIGURE 5 illustrate how the axis of feeder 19 moves still further to one side of the vertical line through the axis of cutter 28. This arrangement insures that the closest relationship between feeder 19 and cutter 28 occurs at the full cutting position while obviating any locking of the feeder 19 in a dead center or over center position.

At the same time it will be seen that as the operating lever 37 swings from the full line position of FIGURE 2 to the full line position of FIGURE 3, the cam, or eccentric, 36 pivots relative to shaft 36a so that the high point on the eccentric 36 moves from one side of shaft 36a to the other side of shaft 36a. When the spring 46 restores the lever 37 to the dot-dash line position of FIGURE 5 at the end of a can cutting operation, such action is insuflicient to move the high point on eccentric 36 back across the shaft 36a, so that the feeder 19 and cutter 28 remain adjacent each other with the rim of the can gripped therebetween until the lever 37 is manually operated toward the position of FIGURE 2 to effect release of the can from between the said pair of canengaging members.

When knives or the like are to be sharpened, it is necessary only to swing the operating lever 37 through a small angle from its upper or fully opened position toward its cutting position, suflicient to move the arm 43 upward enough so that the contact 41 may close with the contact 39. At this time the motor will be energized to drive the grinding wheel 17 and will continue to operate as long as the handle 37 is maintained in that position. Therefore, knives or other instruments to be sharpened may be introduced through the slots 18 to contact the wheel 17 and be properly sharpened thereby. At the end of the sharpening operation, the lever 37 may be swung back to the full line position of FIGURE 2 to again open the contacts 39 and 41 and stop the motor.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that this is for purposes of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of a scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A power operated can opener comprising a cutter and a feeder serving as a pair of can-engaging members, means mounting one of said pair of members for move ment toward the other member into cutting position relative thereto and away from the other member to a can loading and releasing position, power means connected to the feeder to drive it, an operating member connected to the said one of said pair of members to move it toward and away from the other of the pair of members, a control device for the motor, means operated by initial movement of the operating member toward the cutting position to operate the control device to start the motor, reaction on the pair of can-engaging members due to engagement With the can tending to move the said one of said pair of members into cutting position relative to the other member and to hold the control device in operated position, resilient means urging the said one of the pair of members from its cutting position toward its releasing position and being effective when said reaction on the can-engaging members is reduced at the end of a cutting operation, and initial movement of the said one of the pair of members toward its releasing position releasing the control device thereby to stop the motor.

2. A power operated can opener comprising a cutter and a feeder serving as a pair of can-engaging members, means mounting only one of said pair of members for movement toward the other member into can-engaging and cutting positions relative thereto and away from the other member to a can loading and releasing position, the other member being stationary with respect to the cutting position, power means connected to the feeder to drive it, an operating member connected to the said one of said pair of members to move it toward and away from the other of the pair of members, a control device for the motor, means operated by only initial movement of the operating member to move said one member toward the cutting position, but prior to the one member reaching the full operating position, to move the control device in one direction to start the motor, reaction on the pair of can-engaging members thereafter due to their engagement with the can tending to hold the operating member in a position to prevent its further operation of the control device during the can cutting operation, and means operative at the end of a cutting operation to automatically move the control device in the opposite direction, thereby to stop the motor.

3. A power operated can opener comprising a cutter and a feeder serving as a pair of can-engaging members, means mounting only one of said pair of mem: bers for movement toward the other member into canengaging and cutting positions relative thereto and away from said other member to a can loading and releasing position, the other member being stationary with respect to the cutting position, power means connected to the feeder to drive it, an operating member connected to the said one of said pair of members to move it toward and away from the other member, a control device for the motor, means operated by only initial movement of the operating member to move said one member toward the cutting position, but prior to the one member reaching the full operating position, to operate thecontrol device to start the motor, and reaction on the pair of can-engaging members upon their engagement thereafter with the can tending to move the said one of .the pair of members into cutting position relative to the other member and to maintain the control device in operated position.

4. A power operated can opener comprising a cutter and a feeder serving as a pair of can-engaging members, means mounting only one of said pair of members for movement toward the other member into canengaging and cutting positions relative thereto and away from said other member to a can loading and releasing position, the other member being stationary with respect to the cutting position, power means connected to the feeder to drive it, an operating member connected to the said one of said pair of members to move it toward and away from the other member, a control device for the motor, and means operated by only initial movement of the operating member to move said one member toward the cutting position, but prior to the one member reaching the full operating position, to operate the con trol device to start the motor.

5. A power operated can opener comprising a cutter and a feeder serving as a pair of can-engaging members, means mounting only one of said pair of members for movement toward the other member into can-engaging and cutting positions relative thereto and away from said other member to a can loading and releasing position, the other member being stationary with respect to the cutting position, power means connected to the feeder to drive it, an operating member connected to the said one of said pair of members to move it toward and away from the other member, a control device to start the motor as the one member is only initially moved toward the other member and before the one member reaches the full operating position, and reaction on the pair of can-engaging members thereafter due to their engagement with the can tending to further move the said one of the pair of members into piercing position relative to the other member so as to assist in piercing the can for initiating cutting open the can.

6. A power operated can opener comprising a frame, a cutter wheel mounted to rotate about a fixed axis on the frame, a feed wheel mounted on the frame for movement from a released position remote from the cutter wheel to a cutting position wherein it is overlapped by the cutter wheel, a motor, means drivably connecting the motor to the feed wheel and movable to maintain the driving connection in different moved positions of the feed wheel, an operating member to move the feed wheel, a control switch for the motor, means operated by only initial movement of the operating member, in a direction to move the feed wheel toward its cutting position, to close the control switch, and reaction on the feed wheel, due to engagement of the feed wheel and cutter wheel with a can to be cut, thereafter tending to move the feed wheel toward its cutting position while maintaining the control switch closed.

7. A power operated can opener comprising a frame, a cutter wheel mounted to rotate about a fixed axis on the frame, a feed wheel mounted on the frame for move ment from a release position remote from the cutter wheel to a cutting position wherein it is overlapped by the cutter wheel, a motor, means drivably connecting the motor to the feed wheel and movable to maintain the driving connection in different moved positions of the feed wheel, an operating member to move the feed wheel, a control switch for the motor, means operatively associated with said feed wheel whereby only initial movement of the feed wheel toward its cutting position acts to close the control switch, reaction on the feed wheel due to engagement of the feed wheel and cutter wheel with a can to be cut thereafter tending to move the feed wheel toward its said cutting position while maintaining the control switch closed, resilient means urging the feed wheel away from its cutting position, and initial movement only of the feed wheel away from its cutting position operating the switch thereby to stop the motor.

8. A power operated can opener comprising a frame, a cutter wheel mounted on the frame on a fixed axis, a feed wheel, a support for the feed wheel pivoted at its lower end on the frame below the cutter wheel and carrying the feed wheel at its upper end for swinging movement from a release position remote from the cutter wheel to a cutting position wherein the feed wheel is below and is overlapped by the cutter wheel, an operating member operatively connected to the support to swing it and being mounted on the frame for pivoted movement, a motor drivably connected to the feed wheel, a control switch for the motor means operated by only initial movement of the operating member, in a direction toward said cutting position, to effect closure of the switch, and the reaction on the feed wheel, due to engagement of the feed wheel and cutter wheel with a can to be cut, thereafter urging the feed wheel toward its cutting position.

9. A power operated can opener comprising a frame, a cutter wheel mounted on the frame on a fixed axis, a feed wheel, a support for the feed wheel pivoted at its lower end on the frame below the cutter wheel and carrying the feed wheel at its upper end for swinging movement from a release position remote from the cutter wheel to a cutting position wherein the feed wheel is below and is overlapped by the cutter wheel, an operating member operatively connected to the support to swing it and being mounted on the frame for pivoted movement, a motor drivably connected to the feed wheel, a

' switch for the motor, control means operated by initial movement of the operating member in a direction toward the cutting position to engage and close the switch, the reaction on the feed wheel, due to engagement of the feed wheel and cutter wheel with a can to be cut, urging the feed wheel toward its cutting position, resilient means urging the feed wheel away from its cutting position and effective to move the feed wheel upon removal of the cutting reaction at the end of a cutting operation, and initial movement of the feed wheel away from its cutting position moving the control means out of engagement with the switch, thereby to stop the motor.

10. The can opener of claim 9 in which the control means comprises a switch operating arm having a slip connection with the operating member coaxial with its pivotal mounting on the frame.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,706,852 Straub et al Apr. 26, 1955 2,897,589 Bodle Aug. 4, 1959 2,952,073 Congdon Sept. 13, 1960 2,979,815 Rhode et a1 Apr. 18, i961 

